Silver Dollar Salute
by draggon-flye
Summary: Leigh McGee graduates from the Naval Academy. Part of the 'Future Perfect' universe.
1. Chapter 1

Gibbs was habitually an early riser, a lifetime of service in the military and law enforcement had taught him to wake early and instantly without the need for an alarm. This was especially true today. He found himself lying awake even earlier than normal, humming with a kind of excited anticipation that made him feel like a youngster again.

Today was a very special day.

He glanced over at his closet, where his Marine dress blues hung, pressed and polished to their original shine. Today, he would don it again for the first time in a great many years. And for the first time in even longer, he would not be wearing the uniform as an undercover NCIS agent. Today, he was simply Gunny Gibbs again, attending a commissioning ceremony, much like dozens of others he'd attended in his career.

But this one was special.

In a few hours, Midshipman Leigh McGee would graduate from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis and be commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy. At which point, as a commissioned officer, as she had told him gleefully many times, she would outrank him, a mere NCO. His usual response was to growl that he was still her godfather, and to remind her sternly never to forget the value of her NCOs.

But truth be told, he didn't think he'd ever been more proud to be outranked in his life.


	2. Chapter 2

Leigh wasn't naturally an early riser, but four years in the Navy had taught her to be, her own natural preferences be damned. She'd long since gotten past resenting it, at least most days. She was honest enough to grumble occasionally -- okay, sometimes more than occasionally -- but today was not one of those days.

In the faint light of early morning, she pulled herself upright, bracing her back against the thin headboard of her narrow dorm bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and pulled the battered NCIS T-shirt she was wearing down over them, much as she had as a little girl. Across the room, she could see the huddled form of her sleeping roommate. She wasn't stirring yet, and that suited Leigh fine. She needed the quiet.

Around her, the room was littered with half packed suitcases and cardboard boxes. They'd all be moving on soon. The past few weeks had been a whirlwind, as all that she'd spent the past four years working for wound down to an end. In a few hours, her school days would be over, and she'd be an officer. Was she really ready for that?

Intellectually, she knew she was. She passed every test they'd thrown at her, established herself as a leader in her company, and been damn good at it, but this was for real. How the hell could she possibly be ready to put other people's lives in her hands when she felt so much like a little girl?

As if in answer, she heard Uncle Gibb's voice echo in her head, a quiet memory of a long-ago conversation. "I know a soldier when I see one, Leigh," he'd said, on that long-ago night during plebe summer when she'd been frantic and on the verge of quitting. He'd seen one in her then, and that had to be even more true now. But was he right?

"Of course he is, you idiot. The man's a Marine to the bone, and you know it," she thought. Forcefully shaking herself out of the self pitying thoughts, she swung her legs off the bed and stood up. Better get a move on, Katie would be here soon. Her twin was coming to help her get ready. This whole dressing up thing had always escaped her. She thanked heaven that she at least didn't have to decide what to wear. Her summer dress whites hung ready in her closet. It was just the whole makeup and hair thing she had to deal with today. And that, was far more Katie's territory. That thought in mind, she gathered her things and made her way into the bathroom to shower before the world around her woke up.

By the time Katie arrived, several hours later, she'd put the early-morning doubts behind her and been thrust full throttle into the chaos of the day. She'd been so busy with last-minute packing and preparation that she didn't even realize the time until Katie was suddenly at her door, pounding on it and demanding to be let in. For a moment, Leigh wondered irritably why her roommate didn't just answer the door. Then, she remembered that Carla wasn't here, having left earlier to go be with her own family. "Hang on, Katie, I'm coming," she snapped, climbing over boxes to open the door.

Katie grinned at her. "Busy, are we?" The withering glare Leigh shot her was answer enough. Katie just laughed and pushed her way in, carrying a makeup bag and several small boxes.

"You just wait," Leigh mock threatened. "Your day is coming sister." And it was. In just another couple weeks, Katie would have her own graduation from MIT and would likely be every bit as crazy as Leigh was today.

"Yeah, yeah," Katie replied, "but we don't have all this military ceremony stuff to deal with. It's just a plain old ordinary college graduation."

"Well, duh, Kate. This is the US Naval Academy after all," Leigh said dryly.

Katie rolled her eyes. "My sister the soldier," she muttered. "I still think Uncle Tony must've dropped you on your head when we were little."

"Sailor," Leigh corrected automatically. "Jeez, Katie, haven't I taught you anything in four years?"

"Sailor, soldier, whatever," Katie said, clearly unconcerned. "Let's get you ready, or you won't be fit to graduate from anywhere. Do you want me to braid your hair?"

Leigh nodded. That should allow it to survive both the wind and her cover relatively unscathed.

"Ok." Katie pushed away the clutter littering the top of the cedar chest at the foot of Leigh's bed. "Sit."

"Who do you think you are?" Leigh grumbled good-naturedly. "My CO?" But she sat down anyway.

"Perish the thought," Katie said, grabbing Leigh's comb and brush from her dresser and climbing up to sit cross-legged behind Leigh on the bed. "You and Uncle Gibbs and Grandpa McGee can have this military stuff. _I_ am strictly a civilian. Though it would be cool to get to order you around," she added as an afterthought.

"You're right," Leigh agreed. "Perish the thought."

Katie giggled and began combing Leigh's hair and dividing it into the sections to braid. "So," she asked after a moment, "are you excited?"

"Yeah, a little," Leigh replied.

"A little," Katie echoed, incredulous. "You've got to be kidding me. Four years of work to get to here and you're only a little excited?"

"I am excited," Leigh assured her, "but I'm kind of scared to. Being an officer is a lot of responsibility, you know. It's not all about just getting to order people around."

Katie rolled her eyes. "Of course not, I may be a civilian, but I'm not an idiot. I grew up around this much as you did, you know. I do understand the concept of responsibility. It's just, today is your day, a day to celebrate. There'll be time to worry about responsibility later. Don't be such a worry wart, Leigh."

Leigh just sighed. As much as she loved her sister, Kate was a civilian. She'd never get the sense of duty and responsibility that Leigh felt, as much today as ever. Only another officer would ever understand that. Not for the first time, she wished that Uncle Gibbs were here. He'd get it. Mentally shaking off the thought, she pushed it to the back of her mind and forced herself back into the moment, determined to enjoy the day.

She felt herself relaxing as she listened to Katie rattle on about the goings on at MIT, and pranks she and her friends had played on one another. Soon, she was laughing and contributing her own pranks, enjoying the easy banter with her sister and forgetting all about being an officer and the responsibility that came with it.

"You always were good with pranks," Leigh admitted grudgingly, "ever since you built that stupid clown doll." She shuddered at the memory.

Katie laughed. "Oh, come on now, you have to admit that that was pretty impressive."

"Would've been more impressive if you hadn't stolen Daddy's surveillance equipment to do it," Leigh muttered. "And if you hadn't been trying to torture me."

Now it was Katie's turn to shudder. "I got that, trust me," Katie said, squirming even now at the memory of the blistering spanking that particular prank had earned her. "Daddy made it perfectly clear."

"Do you think he knew then?" Leigh asked.

"Knew what?" Katie questioned, never looking up from her intricate braiding.

"That you'd follow in his footsteps," Leigh replied.

Katie considered this for a long moment. "Probably."

Leigh silently concurred. No one had ever seemed really surprised at Katie's choice of school. It was almost a given that her sister would attend MIT. The same couldn't be said of her own choices. Mama had nearly had heart failure. "Nobody saw this coming," she commented with a small smile.

"And that's just the way you like it," Katie countered.

"Maybe," Leigh said noncommittally, but she couldn't stop the grin from creeping out. They both knew Katie wasn't really wrong. She did like to keep people guessing.

Katie just gave her a 'yeah, right' look and twisted an Elastic band around the end of her braid. "I brought you some jewelry," she went on.

Leigh sighed. "Katie, I've told you over and over, we can't wear much jewelry. Almost everything breaks regs."

"You can wear these," Katie said confidently. "I checked." She took one of the boxes she'd brought in from the dresser, opened it, and drew out the contents. Then, opening her hand, she revealed a small pair of gold stud earrings and Leigh's gold crucifix that had been a gift from Grandma Gloria for their first communion. Grinning, she dropped them into Leigh's hands. "See? Even a civilian can do research." Leigh rolled her eyes but put the jewelry on without comment. "Brought you something else too," Katie went on, dropping another small box into Leigh's lap.

This one was clearly a gift, a square white box decorated with blue and gold ribbon, USNA colors. Clearly, Katie had been doing more research. "What's this?" Leigh asked. Katie didn't answer, just smiled mysteriously. Leigh popped open the tape that held the box securely closed and lifted off the lid. Inside the box, nestled in a bed of cotton, was a 2005 Marine Anniversary silver dollar. Leigh looked up, eyes wide, and met Katie's.

"For your salute," Katie said softly.

Leigh nodded, swallowing hard. The silver dollar salute was a tradition that dated to the time when men commonly bought their commissions. In its modern incarnation, it took the form of a ceremonial gesture. A newly commissioned officer gave a silver dollar to the first non-commissioned officer who saluted them, "paying their dues" so to speak.

"Um, Kate," she said after a long moment, "you do know I'm in the _Navy_, right?"

"Of course I do," Katie replied.

"Not the Marines?" Leigh went on. "I mean I know they train here too, but you know I'm not, right?"

"Yes, Leigh," Kate said. She was practically vibrating with frustration. She sounded like she was a hair's breadth from stomping her feet like a toddler.

It was all Leigh could do not to burst out laughing. Katie was far too easy to wind up. Did she really honestly believe she didn't get the symbolism? Jeez, how dense did Katie think she was?

"Because, you know, I'd almost think you've gotten confused, giving a Marine coin to a Navy officer," Leigh continued.

"I am not confused," Katie burst out. "I know the difference between the Navy and Marines, and I know you're in the stupid Navy. But Uncle Gibbs is in the Marines..."

It was more than Leigh could stand. She exploded in laughter. Katie whirled on her, eyes wide, obviously just now realizing that Leigh had been teasing all along. She made a frustrated sound somewhere between a scream and a growl and chucked the hairbrush in the direction of Leigh's head. It missed her by wide margin and went crashing into the wall instead. That only made Leigh laugh harder.

"Shut up, Leigh Anne," Katie groused.

Leigh made a valiant effort to hold back her laughter. "Seriously, Kate, it's great. Thank you."

Katie flashed her a small smile, a silent acknowledgment, but then she grumbled, "Just for that, I ought to make you up to look like a clown."

Leigh's eyes widened in horror. "Come on, Katie, let's not be hasty..."

* * *

**A/N**: the Silver Dollar Saluteis it true military tradition observed by all four branches of the US military. I first saw it when two Army ROTC students were commissioned at my sister's graduation. Its origins are debatable, but my research says that the history I gave it is the most common. If I get it wrong, just remember it's fiction.


	3. Chapter 3

For all that Katie had teased Leigh about the military pageantry, it really was mostly just a normal graduation ceremony, if you ignored the fact that all the graduates were in uniform rather than in caps and gowns. Except for the Blue Angels flyover, that was beyond cool, and Katie couldn't help musing that if Leigh got her way, she'd be flying planes like that one day.

But beyond that, it was the same ole, same old. There was the requisite blathering from the valedictorian, peppered with nostalgic reminiscence that only those graduating really understood. Being Leigh's twin and having heard about most of her adventures, Katie understood most of it, like the class's Herndon Monument climb, where they had posted a respectable two hours, 34 minutes and 45 seconds. It wasn't the fastest time ever recorded, but it wasn't the slowest either, and they were justifiably proud of their record. And the rigors of plebe summer, which Katie and most likely every member of the family present -- and there were quite a few of them, Mama, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa McGee, Grandma Gloria, Uncle Billy and his wife, Aunt Carolyn, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Pete, Uncle Tony and Uncle Gibbs -- had heard Leigh complain about ever since, at every chance she got.

Then, there was the boring and long-winded keynote address. This year the Secretary of the Navy was the keynote speaker, and hearing the man speak, Katie understood many of the dinner table conversations she had heard over the last few years. The man really did have all the personality of a rock, and he was a windbag besides. A sudden unbidden memory of overheard adult comments from her childhood about Uncle Tony flirting with the Secnav's wife clicked into place and sent her into uncontrollable snickers. She clasped her hands tightly over her mouth. Mama was elbowing her, and Daddy was sending her death glares, but that only made it worse. She bit her lip hard, trying to hold her breath and contain the sound. Finally, after several agonizing seconds, she managed to control herself.

Still glaring, Mama pushed the camera into her hands. The windbag had finally finished, and they were beginning to call the graduates up to get their diplomas. "Go get a picture," Mama ordered in whisper. Katie nodded, slipping the camera strap around her neck, and winding her way down from their seats high up on the bleachers to the grassy area around the stage. Though most all of her family were decent photographers, most of them having spent many years taking crime scene and evidence photos, she was among the best. She had Mama's artistic flair and Daddy's eye for detail and patience. Luckily, since McGee came near the middle of alphabet, she had plenty of time to set up her shot before Leigh came across the stage. Though she had stopped well way from the stage area, with Mama's zoom lens she didn't need to be all that close, she was able to see Leigh clearly. She caught her sister's eye and winked. Leigh grinned, all her military training not able to suppress a giggle that bubbled forth, even as she fought it back and tried to be solemn as she reached for her diploma and the new pins that signified her increase in rank from midshipmen to Ensign. Despite her best efforts, the giggle escaped, and it was then that Katie snapped the picture, knowing it would be priceless.

Pleased, Katie hurried back to where her family was waiting. Leigh would find them now as any she could, for traditionally it was the student's family who pinned them,removing their old pins and replacing them with the new ones of a commissioned officer. And then, Leigh and Uncle Gibbs would be together for the first time with her as a commissioned officer who outranked him, and that was a moment she did not want to miss.


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs stood on the fringes of the bustling crowd, watching the proceedings quietly. Around him, the rest of the extended Scuito-McGee clan buzzed like happy bees, chattering, laughing, changing hugs and snapping pictures. The field was covered with the other families who were doing the same. Smiling for the camera as they pinned those hard earned gold bars on their graduate. A few feet in front of him, Abby and McGee were doing the same, with a bit of assistance from Cmdr. McGee, who was patiently instructing Abby in the proper placement for what must have been at least the third time. He shook his head in amusement. Tim, who had grown up in the Navy, and seen commissioning and promotion ceremonies with his father numerous times, had no trouble. Abby, on the other hand, despite having worked for the Navy for more than 20 years, still hadn't a clue. Hell, Abby still hadn't managed to master a proper salute. He looked up, as Leigh laughed at something Katie had said. The girls -- Katie included, though she would rarely admit it these days, being that determined civilian that she was -- had mastered a proper salute by the time they were toddlers. He supposed, he thought, grinning at the memory, he should have known then that Leigh, who could salute better than most green trainees he had seen by the time she started kindergarten, was bound for the service, but he didn't; nobody did. At the time, it was just precocious and very cute, even if he did say so himself.

He had been sitting at his desk working on the paperwork for a case they had closed a few hours before. When the phone rang and Abby's excited voice came over the line.

"Gibbs... Gibbs... Gibbs," Abby had said excitedly, "come see what the girls learned."

He had agreed, putting away his paperwork and stepping into the elevator, praying as he did, that his slightly excitable forensic scientist hadn't decided to teach her three-year-old twins to operate the mass spec or run a fingerprint search or something equally outrageous. He didn't think she would, but with Abby you could never tell. The last time she had to bring them in to work with her on a Saturday, he found them playing a version of some sort of matching game using photographs of tire treads. Of course, given the sorts of photographs Abby had in her lab, he supposed that was pretty tame. Not that he really thought that he would expose her children to the more gruesome aspects of her job, it's just that Abby's idea of educational was a little bit different than most people's.

His question was answered when the elevator came to a halt at Abby's lab. He stepped out, and Leigh came racing over to him, skidding to a halt a foot or so in front of him with Katie following close behind, yelling, "Uncle Gibbs, Uncle Gibbs, watch!"

"I'm watching," he told her, suppressing a grin. Her long brown pigtails had become disheveled in her excitement and had strands sticking out in every direction. She was wearing a garish orange T-shirt and denim short overalls, paired with sparkly sneakers the color of a grape. He raised an eyebrow at Abby in question, but she simply shrugged, mouthing, 'she likes it.'

Her sister, by contrast, wore a light pink dress and sandals. Even this young, they were beginning to develop very distinct and very different personalities.

"Uncle Gibbs," Leigh whined, clearly noticing that his detention had drifted away from her. When he looked back at her, she drew herself up to attention -- or as close to attention as a three-year-old could manage in any case -- and saluted him. Beside her, Katie did the same. It was sloppy, and they both used the wrong hand, but he grinned nonetheless.

"Good job!" he said, beaming at them, but then he dropped down to their level and leaned in close. "Can I tell you a secret?" he asked conspiratorially. Both girls nodded vigorously, eager to be in on the secret. "Marines salute with the other hand," he said soto voce.

"But Mama said..." Katie protested.

"I know, I know," Gibbs said quickly, shushing her dramatically. "I told you; it's a secret." Katie's eyes went wide as understanding slowly dawned. "Come on," he told them, leading them by the hand into an abandoned section of the hallway, "I'll show you." He'd then spent a very enjoyable half-hour or so teaching them how to salute correctly, and he'd enjoyed the fruit of his labor a few months later when Secnav had come into the office for a meeting one afternoon just as Abby brought the girls in from preschool to let them say hello to Tim before she took them down to the NCIS daycare for the afternoon. Seeing the little girls, Secnav had stopped and said hello. Tim had introduced them, and Leigh, who had apparently sensed the man's importance, had shocked them all by drawing herself up and giving him a nearly flawless salute. The man's slack-jawed look was priceless.

Now, he thought with a surge of pride, the little girl he'd taught to salute was an officer in her own right, and it was his turn to salute her. Even if he was want to talk about his feelings, which they all knew he wasn't, he doubted he could have ever expressed to her how much this meant to him, or how proud he was of her and the career she'd chosen. He worried for her too, deep in a small corner of his heart. Military life wasn't easy. He knew better than most the hardships and horrors she'd face, and he'd be lying if he didn't admit there was a part of him that would've like to spare her that. He tried to tell himself that didn't have to be like that. Plenty of people went their entire careers without the darkness touching them, but somehow he knew Leigh wouldn't be one of them. She was too much like him -- and her parents for that matter -- to take the easy road. There was nothing he could do except be there when it happened.

No, he corrected, there was one more thing he could do, that he had to do.

He stepped forward, drawing a more formal military bearing around him as easily as he had stepped into his uniform that morning. He caused quite a stir when he'd shown up in his uniform, but now he was simply one of dozens of Marines on the field, indistinguishable from the rest.

Or so he thought.

The effect of his movement was electric. The family parted before him like the Red Sea, and the very air around them seemed to crackle with anticipation. He strode purposefully over to Leigh, stopping just short of where she stood. Their eyes met and held. He fought down a wave of emotion that bubbled forth, but he knew his eyes were shining, despite his best efforts. Standing ramrod straight, he saluted her.

"Congratulations, Ma'am," he said quietly.

Leigh's own eyes filled with tears as she returned the salute and pressed her ceremonial silver dollar into his palm with her other hand. "Thank you, Gunny," she replied, her voice strong, but thick with emotion.

Gibbs turned on his heel and stepped away, completing the formal ceremony. As soon as he had, Leigh reached out and stopped him with a hand on his arm. He turned back to her, and a moment later she was in his arms, the tears she had been fighting back spilling down cheeks. "I'm so proud of you, Leigh," he said into her ear. Tomorrow, she would begin life as Ensign McGee, and more likely than not, look the darkness in the face, but at this moment, none of that mattered. At this moment, all was right with the world.


End file.
